


Cages

by ChloeWinchester



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dissociation, F/M, Hallucinations, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Verbal Abuse, Verbal Humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 02:27:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3833554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeWinchester/pseuds/ChloeWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zelena is back in Storybrooke and a single glimpse of her sends Rumplestiltskin spiraling back into his mind, back into his memories, far away from where anyone can reach him. Except his wife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cages

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a Tumblr prompt given by thestraggletag

“No, no, no no, no more. No more, not again, can’t do it. I can’t-can’t do it…”

The glimpse of the witch had put him here. The mere suggestion of her shape, the whisper of her voice from far off, that horrific little grin she’d given him made his heart pound and twist so hard. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see, all he could do was panic and pray and these flashes these horrible flashes of what she’d done to him, what she made him do-

_“Good pet, there’s a good pet. You look so exquisite on your knees, did you know that? Now hold still while I-”_

“NO!”

The glass in the display cases that flanked him shattered. He curled up tight against the counter, hiding, fighting his own mind.

Was he in the shop, was he in the cage, was he tied down to her bed, was he safe in his shop with layers of a protection spell on the door so no one, no one, no one could get in?

No, no, that wasn’t right. One person could get in. Belle could get in.

But she wouldn’t come, she wasn’t in any of these memories- realities- memories- echoes- PAIN! she wasn’t there. He didn’t want her to be there -here?-, if she was Zelena would make him hurt her.

_“I hope she tries to save you. It’ll be so fun making you gut her. Ooh, no, it’ll have to be much slower than that. Cut her in teensy little slices and make her cry and beg for you to stop. Oh, and then I’ll have you fuck her so hard she’ll bleed. ‘Rumple, Rumple, don’t hurt me anymore!’ Oh, it’ll be like music. You’ll like that, won’t you?”_

“No. No, don’t hurt her, don’t hurt Belle, I don’t want to hurt her…” His voice echoed off the walls of the shop, the heels of his hands pressing hard into his temples.

“ _Then stop calling HER NAME! YOU’RE MINE NOW!”_

He hid his face in his knees, covering his ears but her laugh was so loud. “H-hurt me. Hurt me, don’t hurt my Belle-” 

And she did -was?- hurt him. On every level, every day, no peace, no mercy.

Belle wouldn’t be here. She only came when he was curled up in the darkness, a shadow in her own right. And he dreamed she smoothed his hair back, wiped away his tears, let him rest his head in her lap instead of rough straw that made his joints ache-

The witch would ruin it, the witch would come in the middle of the night and loom over him and hiss nasty things to him, things that were true about him. Ugly, ugly imp. Filthy monster, desperate pet, pathetic little man, weak nothing, worthless, unloved, whore.

He could hear them, he could see her, he could feel the cold cage and the pain the bright light above would bring when unexpected. But was he there?

No, no, this was the hospital. That’s why it was so hard to breathe, he was dying. Dying, dying oh, his throat hurt, the tube- Her pulling, stop it, stop it-

“It hurts!” He whimpered, covering his head. “Leave me alone, leave me alone, don’t touch me!”

He’d blinked his complacence and still she tormented him. She dangled the potion in front of him, reminded him to be a good pet just like before and if he didn’t oblige she’d make it so he stopped breathing altogether and he had to watch and weep in silence as her hand dipped under his blanket and touched touched don’t-

“DON’T TOUCH ME!”

The mirror behind the counter splintered.

He blinked, and the shop was here, his shop, his solace, his safety. No power over him here, none… He needed to calm down or the windows at the front would break. The unicorn mobile was already vibrating.

He whimpered and pulled into himself, sweating and crying, his breaths short and uneven. He didn’t know what was real. So many voices hissed at him and told him different things, doubtful things, real things, imagined things, realities that could be, realities he’d once experienced who was he where was he he was so scared-

He screamed.

He screamed and screamed and nothing broke but him.

“No room!” He whimpered, hoarse, covering his head. “No room, no room… Belle.”

~*~

She wasn’t sure what did it. The harsh pang she felt in her heart, the kind she only felt if there was something horrifically wrong with Rumplestiltskin hit her hard and currently she was trying to find one of two things: Him, or the source.

She walked down the street, hugging herself and not asking any questions of anyone in case they followed her and tried to hurt him. She dismissed Will and shooed him off, grunting out something about needing space and she was busy.

The moment she laid eyes on the witch her blood ran cold. And then in an instant boiled with more rage than she could express.

She was being ushered into the police station by Emma with Regina, Robin, Roland and the Charmings as well as a woman she didn’t recognize.

She swayed a little where she stood, her heart beating too quickly and she turned, running in the opposite direction, toward the shop. She had to find Rumple, she had to see if he was safe, make sure he wasn’t in a cage again.

Her heels came off a block in, held in her hands to make her faster, but the moment she pushed open the door to the shop she slid them back on.

The glass is what she saw first, scattered about all over the place, embedded in the walls in a few areas.

Her eyes then went to the figure huddled against the counter sobbing, muttering incoherently.

“Rumple.”

His fear clung to the air like bitter fog, and she waded through it and the glass just to get to him. She knelt down beside him, very gently touching his hair.

“Rumple, please, it’s me, it’s-”

Her fingers brushed his skin and he snarled, grabbing her wrist tight and whipping his head up to look at her, amber eyes ablaze with fear and desperation.

He looked into her eyes, and stopped. The snarl faded and he let her go, resuming his trembling as the tears crept back. “Belle?” He whimpered. “You-you can’t be here, Belle, this is no place for you.”

This was Zelena’s fault.

Whether she’d spoken to him or simply looked at him Belle didn’t know but she knew this. This panic Rumple had, this dissociation from his surroundings. He was lost. In his mind, in memories that wouldn’t go away and she had to get him back out.

“Rumple, listen,” she said gently, smiling softly at him. “Rumplestiltskin, tell me where you are, right now.”

He looked around, wincing, shaking his head and trying to make his eyes focus. Cage? Hospital? Where, where- “Shop,” he rasped. “We-we’re in the shop.”

She smiled at him, gently cupping his face. “That’s right. That’s right, Rumple. And I’m real.” She carefully took one his hands and raised it to her face. “Shh...see? See, you can’t touch me if I’m not real, right?”

Zelena made her before, Zelena blindfolded him and stripped him and used Belle’s voice and her body to violate every part of him. Belle isn’t real, Belle’s never real when he needs her to be because it’s dangerous. Dangerous for Belle have to keep her safe, have to-

“Rumple, look at me. Right here with me, stay with me,” Belle urged, meeting his eyes and leaning into his palm. “It’s okay.”

He shook, staring at her. His eyes were swollen with tears, so scared and terrified his expression made him look like a frightened child. An innocent, wounded little boy that didn’t deserve to be hurt like this.

He touched her more surely on his own. “You’re...you are real,” he breathed.

“Remember yesterday?” She goaded. “You put my heart back right over there,” she pointed to the spot. “That was yesterday, Rumple.”

“But,” he choked. “The...the cage…”

“Is far away from here,” she assured. “You burned that whole place to the ground, remember?” She’d gone with him. She’d helped him. She’d held him as he nearly collapsed and let him cry against her. “And, and the dagger is safe. With you, she can’t hurt you if the dagger’s safe, right?” She urged.

He pressed his hand over the breast of his jacket, the hilt of the dagger just inside. He nodded weakly, looking at her.

“I’ll keep you safe,” she promised, cupping his cheeks again. “Oh, Rumple, I promise I won’t let her hurt you again.”

He trembled, whimpering softly and closing his eyes. “She-she already has,” he croaked out, reminding himself repeatedly that this is what was real. Belle. The glass. The shop.

Belle’s brow pinched, shaking her head a little. “No. No, she just got here, Rumple-”

“New York,” he squeaked out. “I-I had a heart attack. She...she came and she… she scared me so much I was so afraid of what she was going to do I...I had another one. I died, Belle.” He covered his face, ripping fingers through his hair. “I woke up with a tube in my throat and she talked and touched and threatened me, said horrible things. Bae...Bae, I didn’t kill her like I said, I’m sorry…” He started crying again. “She wouldn’t stop touching me. The potion will save me, save my heart, save my love for you, she has it. She has it and she won’t- I had to help her, Belle, she WOULDN’T STOP TOUCHING ME!”

Belle hugged him immediately, wrapping her arms around him tight and holding the back of his head. “Shh...shh, Rumple, shh…” She urged, her hands slipping down to cover his ears. “Just listen to my voice,” she breathed, looking down at where his head rested against his chest. “And my heart. The heart you put there, Rumple. The heart that loves you.”

“No one can, no love for me, too ugly, too evil, too worthless,” he hissed. “Pathetic whore, pathetic whore, this won’t stop until you-”

“Rumple!” She lifted his face and pressed her forehead to his. “You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re here with me. I won’t let anything hurt you. Nothing and no one can hurt you if I’m here. I won’t let them. I won’t let a single soul near you, baby.”

He relaxed a little, staring at her. “But...but I’m-”

“The most beautiful, gentle man I’ve ever seen. Who deserves love, and has it. You are loved, Rumplestiltskin. And you are safe. You are  _safe_.”

He hiccupped, eyes focusing more as he looked around, and looked at her. “I’m...I’m sorry,” he whispered. “For all the fuss, I’m...I’m so scared…”

“I know,” she whispered, thumbing his tears away. “Shh...it’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to cry, Rumple. I’m here. I promise I’m here. I won’t leave you here alone with this. I love you.”

Still shaking, and unsure, he collapsed in her arms, crying into her chest. He stayed curled in a ball while she cradled him close.

“Don’t make me,” he whispered to nothing, eyes closed. “Don’t make me, don’t hurt me, don’t make me…”

“Shh...breathe. Breathe, Rumple, breathe with me.” His gasps were too short and shallow. “Breathe with me. In...and out. In...and out…” She kept going until his breaths matched hers. His grip was still tight on her, tears still flowing down her cheeks.

“I wish she’d just beat me,” he whispered. “I wish it wasn’t more. It’s the more I can’t stand. She shaves my face with the dagger. Makes me sit so still. Cuts me every time.” He shut his eyes a moment. “I want to keep my clothes on. I want to bathe in private, if I don’t she’ll order me to her bed, Belle, and I hate it. I hate it, but I don’t have a choice.” He sobbed softly. “I get sick after. Every time. I just want you! I want to go home!”

“You are home,” she promised, her own face wet. She knew it was bad but he never told her it was this horrible. “You’re here with me, remember. Where are you, Rumplestiltskin? Where are we right now?” He repeated where they were, sitting up and looking around again. He took more deep breaths when coached, told her what day it was, focused on her face. Belle’s face.

“Didn’t mean to break all this,” he whispered, wiping his eyes, clenching his hands to stop them from shaking. “I’ll fix it. You’re...still working here you, you shouldn’t…”

He looked at her, frowning. “Why...why are you here?”

“I saw Zelena,” she said quietly. “And I had to find you and...make sure you were alright.” She brushed his hair back from his eyes. He shook his head, weary and not fully understanding.

“But I…” His voice was hoarse, soft. “Will?”

She shook her head. “I-I wanted to tell you yesterday I didn’t…” She didn’t finish.

He fell into her again, hugging her, and she held him close, turning her face into his hair. “Zelena can’t hurt you,” she promised. “Or me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He shuddered against her, still confused. “But, I, I’m supposed-”

“I couldn’t save you last time,” she breathed, her voice breaking. “I-I didn’t know about the hospital. I won’t let it happen again. I won’t let her have you, she can’t have you.” She kissed his forehead. “I’m going to be your hero, Rumple. I swear I will.”

She helped him up, helped him out of his jacket and his tie because it would be uncomfortable and onto the cot where he lied down with is head in her lap, no straw to be spoken of. His battered, tormented mind fell into a quiet hum as Belle told quiet stories to him, things to distract him. She covered him with the blanket and smoothed his hair back.

When he was on the cusp of sleep, he whispered to her that he loved her. And Belle kissed his temple, and whispered it right back.

Falling into the first peaceful sleep he’d gotten since his banishment, Rumplestiltskin smiled.


End file.
